going round in a circle

Day 5 saw us heading into the Czech Republic and our first proper border crossing. Having managed to annoy the policemen on 2 accounts – not turning off our engine and not having our headlights on – he took a long hard look at our passports before allowing us through. The first settlement we came to was Hrensko, described in the Lonely Planet as “a cute village of pointy-gabled houses” however, they forgot to mention the rows and rows of tacky souvenir stalls which line the street in front of above mentioned houses. This pretty much totally obscures the picturesque view and certainly denies the village any cuteness. Fortunately this was not our final destination and so after a very brief stop to purchase a hiking map we turned off the main road and headed into the hills.

Our plan was to stay at a camp site in Mezni Louka, which we found with relative ease. What took a little longer to work out was that it was shut until the end of May. The tell-tale signs of desertion should perhaps have given it away, but the equally obvious sign informing new arrivals the reception closed over lunch time, led us into a false sense of security that someone would indeed return shortly to let us in. 45 minutes later, armed with Sophie’s last minute borrowed German dictionary, we were able to establish the reality of the situation. With our new map we then located another campsite nearby and started off again. A large ‘OPEN’ sign greeted us this time, but unfortunately that was all that greeted us. With no-one to be found and no sign of any other campers, we were forced to head for campsite number 3.

We finally located signs of life just outside the village of Jetrichovice in what turned out to be the best of the 3 sites. In pigeon German on both sides we booked ourselves in for little more than £5 a night including electric hook-up. Then as we rolled across to our stop the first spots of rain began to fall, and there began a tremendous thunderstorm that circled our position for the next 12 hours or so.
In a brief brighter let-up we took a turn around the small site and discovered we were surrounded by large sandstone rock formations and dense pine forests.

Setting up the electricity was not quite as straight forward this time. With ‘no earth’ (and therefore no power) being reported on our polarity tester, a friendly neighbour came to our assistance. With various testing equipment, beyond the realms of our own knowledge, he informed us that Napoleon had got his wires crossed and advised us to try re-wiring him! Our inevitable hesitancy brought on the alternative suggestion of just running off his adaptor which we gratefully accepted. [We were also pleased to find that we had no trouble hooking up in Prague, albeit with the plug upside down – to any electricians reading this we would value you opinion, but so far it seems to be working].

The next day was one of cycling, walking and being punted. There was a nice sounding circular walk starting in Hrensko which we were able to pick up half way round in Mezni Louka. The 15km uphill cycle (push bike up hill) to Mezni Louka was not my favourite part of the day, but I did enjoy the return journey (except for the fading light bit). The walk was divided into 2 distinct sections, with very impressive clear markings along the whole route. After a few km descent into a dark pine forest, with the now familiar sheer rock faces along each side of the narrow valley we came to the rive Strzi. Following walkways rather precariously clinging to the rocks along the river’s edge we eventually came to an apparently impassable section where the only way through the deep gorge is by boat. The cynic in me also noted the clever opportunity to charge tourists for the pleasure of passing. Either way, being low season, after a rather long wait just in case there were any other walkers needing their pockets relieved of some loose change, we were exclusively punted down the river.

Some more river side walking took us past a man with a shed demanding a second payment (reason slightly unclear) and still further on brought us to another impassable section and another boat trip. Upon reaching the throngs of Hrensko we (and our bellies) were pleased to find a local café still serving food. After a few minutes gazing at the incomprehensible menu and a sense this was going to be rather like a lucky dip, a waitress noticed our phrase book and brought us menus translated into some form of English. It’s amazing how much more appetising food sounds when you know what it is! We both opted to try some of the local cuisine (£2 each) and were quite satisfied with our respective meat dishes served with bread like dumplings and creamed spinach.

A little too full of carbohydrates we then headed back up into the hills on a seemingly never ending ascent up to Pravcicka Brana, reputedly one of the largest natural arches in Europe. A magnificent sight, yes, but again you pay for the privilege (what a cheap skate misery I sound!). Now 6pm we were rather against the clock so the last section of the walk was completed in a steadily determined style. Mostly through closely wooded and very steep paths. The heavily eroded sandstone rock faces towered above us to often beyond where the eye could see, and the dark valley floor somewhere below our feet, again obscured from view most of the time. The sandy path wound round the rock formations covering a distance at least 3 times that which the crow would fly. We eventually arrived back in Mezni Louka and collected our bikes.

Sausages (again – think we’re turning into sausages) rounded off a tiring but enjoyable day, as we made plans to head down towards the capital.

One Week - One Thousand Miles

An orchard in Praha with free internet. Thank you kind neighbours. Napoleon is resting today, he deserves it after the slog of the Autobahns across the width of Deutschland. Having bought the books on Stellplatzes "aire de services"...camping for free, we made for Bruges, with nothing other than GPS coordinates and a sense of direction. Or one of us had! Within his first day on the continent, Napoleon broke the rules! went up a one way street, an example was set as others followed in his brave tyre tracks.



Bruges was a surprising treat, its walkways following slowly flowing canals, which on the whole are surrounded by medieval buildings. The town planners wisely have refused to admit any modern austere architectural behemoths and are sticking to their past. However, they do admit many a tourist, who wildly fling their "sit up and beg" bicycles along the cobbled streets with alarming lack of control. Tinkle tinkle go the bells. Pedestrians beware, there are mad pedal pushers about.



It is strange to abandon normal means of doing things. In the local watering holes, you do not wait for your drink at the bar, unless you are an old man in deep converstion with your barman. Instead they bring it over on trays held high over their shoulders and pour it from acute angleswith flourishes and wrist flicks that would impress a badminton player.

No fresh milk! I am slowly discovering long life milk, condensed milk without the enjoyment or taste. In short, this liquid has not found a place in my belly's list of delights. I might have to take to putting custard in my tea and coffee soon. The first night on the continent finished with an empty tin of beans...very European.

Across the flat Belgian motorways to the roaring Autobahns of Deutschland. NApoleon shifted up a gear and began to growl, forgetting past misdemeanours and old age, he flexed his muscles and made it over 120, that's KmPH! Eventually the Rhineland arrived. It took both of our powers of map reading and intelligence to find this region of once contested land. Vineyards scarpered up steep cliff sides as the Rhine woulnd its way towards the industrial shipping yard of Rotterdam. Barges and Freight Ships sailed up and down this fine river, some full of haulage containers, others empty. Leaving the roads less congested with trucks and tankers. We got a sense of the importance of this river to its inhabitants by the numerous fortifications and castles perched along its cliffs, overseeing the events below. Another night of free camping and then onto Dresden the next day.

Napoleon left his autobahn tyres behind and put on his climbing boots, as the Rhineland turned into winding mountain passes. No more breaking the century mark on the dashboard dial. Slowly Dresden arrived. Quickly the blisters came - the fault of the sandals and not the land. Dresden once obliterated by the RAF during the 2nd world war, has arisen. While the communist era in Germany resuscitated it, the capitalist era leaves it mixed up. A sense of what was, more than what is abounds. Plenty of disused vast buildings. A museum to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin sits on a very quiet street near the Elbe. Monday is not a good day to try and see the museums of Dresden. They stay shut on mondays. It is a good day to cycle around. Cyclists in what was Eastern Germany, have priority over all other vehicles except for emergency services. They have cylce paths on the footpaths and all traffic must yield to the clists as the path crosses the roads. The salvation of momentum and the safety of the cyclists. We visited a Getrankt Discount Markt, which possesses a fine display of German beers, all bottled. Only Guinness could be found in aluminium cans. Spartan Deutsch was utilised to problem solve the problem of an unco-operative card payment machine. "Konnen sie sprechen Englisch, bitte" "vielen danke" und "Das ist alles". I knew the Irish education system would not let me down. It also enabled us to only pay for one nights lodgings in Dresden, as opposed to two - a simple mix up of the verb tense, Bleiben and two nights became one.

Tschuss zu Deutschland und yo Czech Republicke. Some more photos have been added to the flickr site.

a slight hic-up

unfortunately Napoleon has gone and dropped his exhaust... ooops. better now than later, though praps slightly less interesting. new part should be fitted tomorrow. off friday, fingers crossed. the other good news is this heavy (incessant) rain has revealed only one hole in the roof, so sealant has been purchased and will be applied just as soon as it stops raining!

finally, today's lesson, light bulbs do not bounce on concrete. what a day.

finding ways to amuse oneself when one isn't driving

There have been several requests for a picture of Napoleon. Unfortunately I do not have a good one to hand, so this will have to do at present. It was taken on the way home as we drove over the Salisbury plains and past stone henge.

Ramson (Wild Garlic)

Ramson (Wild Garlic)
Originally uploaded by tomthumb20c.

Would that be a Konica Minolta you are using?

Originally uploaded by tomthumb20c.

Tick-le

Tick-le
Originally uploaded by tomthumb20c.

Slow Worm (not so slow after all)

Slow Worm (not so slow after all)
Originally uploaded by tomthumb20c.

Fossilised Tree?

Fossilised Tree?
Originally uploaded by tomthumb20c.

Seeing as we were unable to go to the official Fossil Tree Forest we decided to find our own!

Napoleon Conquers Lyme Regis

It pleases me to announce that we are almost ready for offskys. Napoleon has proved himself deserving of the title SPORT, after hurtlin along on motorways at the grand old speed of 75mph, one that old Bonaparte would even have been amazed at, and steadily grinding up the inches on steep 25% inclines.

So after many many months of searching for a trusty campervan, we are ready to depart in our little Fiat, now known as Napoleon Sport. Napoleon because of the Eastern Europe connection, (and yes Napoleon did not conquer Russia, but he did conquer most of Eastern Europe) and Sport with a nod and a nudge to my old workmates in SE17, thanks for the badge.

We completed a trial run of 4 nights in the royal old resort of Lyme Regis, loftily perched between two fine south english counties of Dorset and Devon. Everything now works as planned and hoped for. Though we do not have the 240v power unless we are hooked up to a mains, i.e. our leisure battery does not have an alternator. So we shall have to be economic with the power usage.

Lyme Regis was once a location frequented by members of the British Royal family, and before man was the dominant species it was inhabited by dinosaurs of various sizes and other creatures. Anyway...it is now quite renowned for being part of the Jurassic Coastline. If you like fossils, go there, and if you have a distaste for large supermarkets and a love for organic local produc, including seafood go there.

Highlights of the trip were a 12 mile walk from Axmouth to Lyme Regis courtsey of Natural England, highly recommended for wild herb foraging and the like. Its also beautiful to see that man has lost out to nature in many ways here. Over the last hundred years the land along this coast has slipped and slid and so made it unsafe for traditional human inhabitation, and so nature is rife. BEWARE THE TICKS!
Another fine walk was from The Golden Cap back to Lyme Regis. The Golden Cap is the highest point on the South Coast of England, however, it isn't very high at all, quite disappointing if you are the conquerer of Lugnaquilla and other behemoths of rock. Great views of the coast over towards the seemingly famous Chissel Beach and Portland Bill to the left, and Salcombe to the right. This was a fine walk for fossil collecting and getting caught by an incoming tide. so we embraced the adventure and scaled a landslide up a cliff face and then with no compass for comfort navigated a Tick-ly forest of trees and scrub.
Other places worth visiting was Lulworth Cove, and we believe the fossil forest is meant to be pretty special,but the Ministry of defence have a firing range there, so it is only open on weekends. The pathetic thing about this fact is that you have to walk a steep 1 mile incline and the same decline on steps before you find this out. Happy Campers!
On the way back to civilisation we stopped off to see how civilisation in the iron age was in Dorset...MaidenCastle/Fort - Europe's largest example of this. Guess who roams this great mound now? a big silly flock of sheep. It's a pity that there isn't much on the site education about this settlement and it's importance to the development of society prior to the arrival of the Romans. Nearby is Roman built (the term built is used loosely) Dorchester, where a fine selection of charity shops awaits the eager shopper.

Napoleon has since required some shopping and a final doctor's check up at the garage, and all healthy we should be off Thursday 17th.